Family Office
Bancshares of Florida to buy Bristol Bank
Florida regional finds "perfect fit" for move into new local
market. Naples, Fla.-based Bancshares of Florida (BoF) has agreed
to buy Bristol Bank, a one-branch, retail bank in Coral Gables,
Fla., for about $21 million in cash and stock. BoF – a holding
company focused the commercial banking and wealth-management
needs of small-business owners, professionals, executives and
other high-net-worth families in Florida’s Broward, Collier,
Hillsborough and Palm Beach counties – says the acquisition fits
its plan to extend the reach of its Bank of Florida affiliate
into the state’s populous Dade Co.
Bye, bye Bristol
“Dade County is a market our management team knows well, and
Coral Gables is one of the crown jewels of this area,” says
Bancshares president and CEO Michael McMullan. “The demographics
of this market are a perfect fit for our premium brand and
business model.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Bristol’s shareholders will get
$20.9 million; 30% in cash and 70% in Bancshares stock. This
comes to about twice Bristol’s book value at the end of September
2005.
Assuming the deal gets shareholder and regulatory approval,
Bancshares will dissolve the Bristol brand and fold the bank into
its Bank of Florida affiliate. Once the deal is done Christopher
Roden, Bristol’s chairman and CEO, will become a senior manager
of the Bank of Florida.
In addition to buying Bristol in Coral Gables, BoF plans to build
a new Bank of Florida branch in Aventura, another Dade Co.
center.
On completion of the acquisition, BoF will exceed $663 million in
assets, more than $90 million of those assets from Bristol.
Raymond James & Associates advised BoF on the transaction;
Sandler O'Neill advised Bristol. Besides Bank of Florida, BoF’s
affiliates are Bank of Florida-Southwest, Bank of Florida-Tampa
Bay and Bank of Florida Trust Company.
BoF used to be known as Citizens Bancshares of South Florida. –FWR
